Graphics

Your probably wondering why anyone would do a page about graphics and to be honest with you I was not so certain I was going to do one. However, since I love to make graphics in my spare time, I thought I would make a page to talk briefly about this subject.

I started out making graphics about 9 yrs. ago. I was tired of joining groups and having to follow everyone else’s rules and finally decided to make my own group. Nothing like just diving in and having to learn everything on the spot. However, I am a quick study and soon was making fairly reasonable graphics and building up a nice little community. The time required to keep the group active became too much and did not allow for enough time for me to keep working on graphics, so eventually I had to let the group go.

So I moved on and helped others make their graphics dreams a reality in various groups and on websites. Over the course of the next few years, my graphics skills grew and so did the software which I use to create the graphics.

Now I can create anything I want, from simple gifs to full blown flash websites.The tools I use to create graphics are:

Photoimpact X3- This is my favorite program for doing graphics and it looks like it is going to be the last photimpact product being made.While it is compatible with Vista, it is not guaranteed to work with Windows 7. It is a shame really because this was so easy to use and quite effective too. It made great graphics and did it fast. Almost every image on this blog was created entirely in this software or edited with it.It compresses images really well and allows you to make the best use of the webspace you have. If you have a xp or vista OS, I cannot recommend this product enough (Nope, I am not paid to say any of this). To learn more about it and purchase it, go here. Hurry, though as it looks like it won’t be around for much longer.

This is what I will be getting when I update to Windows 7 in March,2010. It looks easier to use than in the past and may serve my basic photo/graphics needs. There are alot of tutorials for this software all over the internet so I am certain to learn this software fairly quick. If you are interested, you can learn more here.

Ulead Gif Animator 5- This is made by the same people that make Photoimpact. It is fairly easy to use and it does work with both xp and Vista.I have been using this recently to edit gifs since I lost the disc I had with Animation Shop.:( It works but does not have alot of built-in effects. You can learn more here.

Smishmax 2- Is flash creation software, that you can use to create anything, from simple flash banners to full-blown interactive websites. I have been using various versions of Swish for more than 5 yrs. now.It is way cheaper and easier to use than anything Adobe makes. Give it a shot if you need to create some flash. It also exports are gif or avi format which very useful for places that do not allow flash. If you are interested, learn more here.

I do the occassional job but obviously this is a field were the work is sporadic and thus I am always on the hunt for a new project.

If you have a need for some graphics work to be done, please visit the contact page. I work cheaper than most and always provide the highest quality graphics that money can buy.